New Delhi : The Congress is in a “wait and watch” mode over the political situation in Bihar and is bracing itself to have an edge in the number game that is likely to unfold if JD-U president and chief minister Nitish Kumar chooses to walk out of the ruling alliance.
According to Congress insiders, the AICC in charge of Bihar Mohan Prakash has obtained feedback from the state leaders and briefed party chief Mallikarjun Kharge as well as former chief Rahul Gandhi over the situation.
Rahul returned to Delhi on Jan 25 night after his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which entered West Bengal on Wednesday, took a break due to Republic Day celebrations and will resume on Jan 28.
“We are all in a wait and watch mode. There is a lot of speculation that Nitish Kumar may quit the alliance. At this point I would not like to comment on that issue. We will react if any development takes place,” Bihar Congress Legislative Party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan told this channel.
The Congress leader said that the ruling alliance did not anticipate any trouble but was prepared for any eventuality, should Nitish’s exit trigger a political crisis in Bihar.
“If Nitish Kumar chooses to walk out of the alliance and join hands with the BJP, it will all boil down to the number game in the state assembly. In our assessment, minus the JD-U, the alliance would be short of around 8 MLAs to have a simple majority. If needed, this number can be arranged as some disgruntled JD-U MLAs have been in touch with the RJD leaders and may be willing to switch sides. The alliance appears to be in a stronger position this time as the Assembly Speaker is from the RJD and will play by the rules. These factors will certainly put pressure on Nitish Kumar before he takes the risk of denting the alliance,” a senior AICC functionary said on condition of anonymity.
According to AICC estimates, in the House of 243 MLAs, the alliance has RJD-79, Congress-19, CPI(ML)-12, CPI(M)-2, CPI-2 and 1 Independent MLA. Minus JD-U’s 45 MLAs, this number works out to be 115, which is 8 less than the halfway mark.
According to Congress insiders, if Nitish Kumar faces the threat of some JD-U MLAs breaking away, he may opt for dissolution of the assembly.
For now, the AICC functionaries have asked the state leaders to secure all the 19 Congress MLAs while the RJD is controlling its own lawmakers.
“All our 19 MLAs are intact. We are busy preparing for Rahul Gandhi’s yatra which will enter Bihar on Jan 29 and the Jan 30 rally in Purnia. We have invited all our allies for the rally and we hope all of them will attend,” said Shakeel Ahmed Khan.
Bihar Congress working president Ashok Kumar said there was no need to panic at the moment but noted the grand old party was alert and was in regular touch with its allies.
“There is no need to panic right now. But we have to be alert. We are in touch with our allies. I have heard some JD-U MLAs are in touch with RJD. If a crisis takes place, arrangements have been made to get the numbers in the assembly,” Ashok Kumar told this channel.
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